Before the great statues of the Italian Baroque period were formed, the sculptors would imagine the piece and create smaller statues called master studies of what would become the final product.

A collection of these Italian Baroque terracotta master studies, never seen before in the United States, have emerged from their dark storeroom in St. Petersburg, Russia. These statues will be showcased through May 3 in the Bernini’s Rome exhibit in the galleries of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Fourteen artists are included in this showcase with the greatest works by Gain Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654).

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Roanne Barris, a historian for SIUC’s School of Art and Design, describes Bernini’s sculptures as brilliant and exquisite works of art.

The sensory effects in Bernini’s work is vivid and sensuous, she said. You really experience a sense of movement in Bernini’s work.

Bernini’s works were called speaking sculptures’ because the impressions in the motions and gestures captured in the life-size statues.

Most of the terracottas which average between 8 and 18 inches in height with the characteristic warm brownish orange-hues of fired clay were created as studies for much larger marble or bronze works. More than two-thirds were done as three-dimensional sketches for the larger monuments created in Rome and other cities during the 125-year Italian Baroque period. Others were made as presentations or stand alone pieces.

Eileen Harakal, publicist for the Art Institute of Chicago, said the master studies are especially unique because they were personal pieces.

Each sculpture reflects the master artist’s personal touch and freedom because they usually worked on these pieces without the large teams of assistants which the large works required, Harakal said.

In addition to the personal touch of each piece, another appeal of the clay models lie in their texture.

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The process of creating statues in marble or bronze was costly, so sculptors used inexpensive materials wax, plaster, wood, and above all, clay to formulate their ideas, Barris said.

Clay had many advantages over the other materials. It could be molded by hand or with tools, and it could either be worked quickly or carefully wiped and smoothed to achieve a refined surface.

Clay could also be fired in an oven (terracotta literally means baked earth), which made it durable.

The use of clay was especially valuable in Bernini’s work because of his interest in creating sensory and textual effects, Barris said. You can see a fingerprint on the skin of some statues.

Most of the works on display were purchased by the wealthy Venetian Cardinal Filippo Farsetti (1704-1774) in the mid-18th century. The wealthy hermit Farsetti lived in Rome between 1749 and 1753. Hoping to establish an art academy in his native Venice, he began collecting paintings and sculptures, and ordering plaster copies of ancient statues and working models to serve as teaching examples or inspiration to art students.

The collection eventually found its way to St. Petersburg in 1800 and were stored at the city’s Academy of Art.

For nearly two centuries, the terracotta sculptures lay unseen in the storerooms of institutions in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1919, it was transferred to The State Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg. The terracottas have rarely been exhibited in the 20th century, and the exhibition in Chicago is their first showing in the United States.

Although the unveiling in the United States is a big event and she would encourage anyone who’s interested to go and see them, Barris said its different from the experience of seeing the actual statues.

Many of the sculptures in the exhibit are very small considering the scale of Bernini’s sculptures, Barris said. You just can’t get the sculptures’ desired effect from 8 to 18 inch high statues.

FACTOID:The Art Institute of Chicago is located at 111 South Michigan Ave. Admission to the Bernini’s Rome exhibition is free. For information, call (312) 443-3600.